At least seven people have died and many others are missing after a boat carrying about 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe capsized off the coast of The Gambia, authorities say.
The boat overturned on Wednesday midnight near Jinack village in the North Bank Region and it was later found “grounded on a sandbank”, the country’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Ninety-six people have been rescued so far and a search is continuing for other passengers who were aboard the shipwrecked vessel that was heading towards Spain’s Canary Islands.
The perilous journey over the Atlantic Ocean has become an increasingly common route for African migrants trying to reach Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people reached the Canary Islands in 2024 and the Spanish non-government organisation Caminando Fronteras estimates more than 9,000 migrants have died trying.
SOURCE: BBC NEWS
